The present invention relates to an optical disk device which replays a title recorded upon an optical disk such as a DVD or the like.
In the prior art, optical disk devices which read and replay data for titles recorded upon DVDs are widely used and generally popular. A typical such optical disk device outputs a title menu image in which, for each title recorded upon the DVD, the title name and its recording date and time and so on are displayed as a list, and is endowed with a function of allowing the user to select a title to be replayed. This title menu image is displayed upon a display device which is connected to the main body of the device. The user checks the title names which are displayed in this title menu image, and selects the title to be replayed.
Furthermore, proposals for display formats for such a title menu image have been made in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2000-295558, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-290863, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2003-230080. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2000-295558 proposes to display, along with an EPG (Electronic Program Guide), as a private channel, the titles recorded upon the optical disk and the title names of non-recorded titles which have been scheduled for recording. Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-290863 proposes to display the title list image by classifying it into a portion for which processing has been completed, and a portion for which this is not the case. Moreover, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2003-230080 proposes to display, in the title menu image, viewing restriction information and the lengths (replay times) of the titles and so on.
However, with prior art optical disk devices, it has not been possible for the user to check the following items (1) through (4) upon the title menu image:
(1) Whether a title has not yet been replayed;
(2) If it is a title which has been previously replayed, whether it is one which has been almost completely replayed, or, conversely, whether it is a title of which only a portion has been replayed and of which comparatively many portions have not been replayed (non-replayed portions);
(3 When a title was most recently replayed; and
(4) The number of times a title has been previously replayed.
Due to this, each time the title menu image is displayed, it has been necessary for the user to decide upon the above matters (1) through (4) from the title names and so on, based upon his own memory, and sometimes it may happen that he mistakenly decides that a title which actually has not been replayed has already been replayed, or, conversely, that he mistakenly decides that a title which has already been replayed is one which has not been replayed. Furthermore, in order to make the above described decision for a title for which his memory is unclear as to whether or not it has been replayed, the user has had no option other than to replay this title, in order to check its contents. Thus, with an optical disk device according to the prior art, there has been the problem that the user experience during selection of a title for replay is not good.